New candidates in Coral Gables commission races rake in contributions

The two newest candidates in the Coral Gables April election came out strong last week with their first month’s campaign finance reports, which were eerily close, and start off their respective bids with a bang.

Tania Cruz-Gimenez, the daughter in law of the former mayor and current Congressman Carlos Gimenez, reported a total of $38,350 in contributions collected in December, and Alex Bucelo, who is also most famous for being the other son of Armando Bucelo, reported $37,500.

They also shared a few notable donors: Behar Font architects, lobbyist Iris Escarra and a couple of engineering firms that might have some interest in the controversial zoning changes considered for Miracle Mile and the historic Crafts Section of the city.

It’s something they’re each going to have to defend along the campaign trail because development, even in the midst of a pandemic, is always the big issue in every Gables election. It will be this year, too, as evidenced by the zoom community town hall on the zoning code rewrite that the city had on Thursday, which was attended by about 200 people — and at least five commission candidates.

They are also each backed by former Miami City Manager Joe Arriola, who has been mostly in the news lately for funding the recall against Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo. The fact that Cruz-Gimenez, a one-time Carollo campaign consultant, got $2K from Crazy Joe’s nemesis (and wife) is interesting and certainly shows some strain in that relationship. She also got $2K from Carollo’s other nemesis, Calle Ocho investor and Ball & Chain Bar owner Bill Fuller (and wife).

But, hey, Tania is still good with Commissioner Manolo Reyes because his lobbyist son Manny gave her another $1,000. No contributions yet from Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, her one-time mentor/boy-toy. There’s still time, but if the first month is a message, she’ll stay away from the tainted money of her political family and friends to show she is as independent as she says she is.

Cruz-Gimenez really got all her contributions in 21 days and she raised more in that time than Jose Valdes-Fauli, brother of the current mayor and candidate in the same Group 2 race, had built up in almost a year before December.

Of course, her candidacy may have lit a fire under his, uh, feet. Valdes-Fauli had his second best month with $20K plus added to bring him to a $52,040 total. But he also loaned himself $5,000, which means he basically had $27K or so raised since February before TCG surprised almost everyone with her announcement last month that she would run. She beat that in 21 days.

It’s noteworthy because she did that without loaning herself any money and without a lot of her father-in-law’s financial base. There are a lot of checks from relatives — her own New Jersey clan, not her in-laws. In fact, very few checks can be tied to el suegro. Those include maximum $1,000 checks from lobbyists Marcelo Llorente and partner Alex Heckler, and Genaro “Chip” Iglesias, Papi’s former chief of staff and longtime water carrier.

It’s pleasantly surprising that there isn’t more obvious Carlos Grimenez money. But it also means Tania has not yet tapped that well dry. Instead, she has a $50 check from retired political blogger Al Crespo. That’s kinda cool.

She also has a $1,000 contribution from the newly appointed Miami-Dade Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins, but Ladra has been told the two are friends from the ladies who lunch and talk about running for office bunch.

Meanwhile, Bucelo has a $150 check from former Mayor Don Slesnick, which is less than what he spends at Christy’s for dinner.

Las malas lenguas say Bucelo’s papi made all the cash calls for him. And there is some bundling: Ten $250 checks from companies tied to developer Sergio Pino, which seems like a silly waste of trees since he can write fewer larger checks. Unless that’s coming. Like Cruz-Gimenez and other first-time candidates, Bucelo has also tapped into relatives and, it looks like, college law school buds.

Bucelo has spent more, at $11,161 just in December — for Christmas and Thanksgiving mailings — than any other candidate except Javier Baños, the CPA tied to Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo who has only really raised $60,000 since February, because the other $60K is a loan to himself. And it’s waning. Baños picked up only $1,500 in December, the second worst month in the year he’s been raising funds.

In fact, nobody else in the commission contests did very well in December.

In Group 2, with the two hyphenated Cuban-American dynasty names, Miami-Dade Republican Party darling and former Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff staffer Claudia Miro added $4,200 for a total of $25,700, thanks mostly to Republican loyalists like Miami-Dade Commissioner Rene Garcia, who is also the new chairman of the county’s Republican Party, and Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez, who each gave $1,000 from their respective political action committees, as well as former Miami Young Republicans prez Jessica Hernandez and fundraiser Esther Nufer, most recently an “accomplice” to former Congressman David Rivera‘s multi-million-dollar scam on the Venezuelan government, who each also gave $1,000. Sarnoff gave $1,000 and Republican campaign consultant David “Digustin” Custin gave $500. She is the GOP candidate, no doubt.

She also has $200 from consultant Irela Bague, who has just been named the new Miami-Dade Chief Bay Officer by the new county mayor (and Ladra is certain she can afford more with that new government salary).

Attorney and grassroots candidate Rhonda Anne Anderson doubled her bounty to just over $10K — but she just got started because the first $5,000 was a loan to herself.

The other three candidates haven’t raised anything, even the famous overly-enthusiastic nodding lady from the Trump town hall, Mayra Joli, who Ladra thought would at least loan herself something to make a splash.

In Group 3 with Bucelo and Baños, there is forever Gables resident and Youth Center soccer coach to everyone Kirk Menendez, who has a total of $7,500, including $6,000 raised in December: $4K from businesses tied to real estate investor Rolando Delgado, $1,000 from attorney Mario Garcia-Serra and $1,000 from lobbyist Tim Riera Gomez.

This election is in April, so really March, if you go by vote-by-mail ballots. It’s not like these candidates have forever to raise money so everyone should be filing fatter reports for January (by Feb. 11).

Also, we’ll see some more spending beginning this month. And, as always, expect a political action committee or two to get involved. Stay tuned.

Alex Bucelo, Coral Gables politics, Tania Cruz-Gimenez

New candidates in Coral Gables commission races rake in contributions added by Ladra on January 17, 2021
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